UConn’s Final Four streak ends at 14
Ohio State forces 25 turnovers, ousts Huskies in Sweet 16
UConn’s record streak of reaching 14 straight Final Fours ended when third-seeded Ohio State beat the No. 2 seed Huskies 73-61 on Saturday in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Women’s Tournament in Seattle.
Cotie McMahon scored 23 points and the Buckeyes (28-7) forced Connecticut (31-6) into 25 turnovers, ending the Huskies’ season before the national semifinals for the first time since 2008. UConn hadn’t been eliminated this early since 2006.
The Buckeyes stopped their own Elite Eight drought. Ohio State hadn’t made a regional final since 1993. The Buckeyes went on to lose in the title game that year.
They’ll play the winner of top seed Virginia Tech and fourthseeded Tennessee on Monday night in the Seattle Region 3 final with a trip to Dallas at stake.
Ohio State, which had to rally from a double-digit deficit in the first round against James Madison, used full-court pressure to disrupt the Huskies’ offense.
“We picked the worst day to actually be doing the things that we’ve been struggling with all year long,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said in a sideline interview during the game.
This has been the most trying year of Auriemma’s Hall of Fame career. UConn was beset by injuries and illnesses to both players and coaches. It got so bad the
Huskies had to postpone a game when they didn’t have enough scholarship players. They also saw their unbelievable run of 30 years without consecutive losses come to an end.
Jacy Sheldon had 17 points for Ohio State, going 10 of 10 at the free-throw line.
Lou Lopez Senechal scored 24 points for the Huskies.
Greenville Region 1 Maryland 76, Notre Dame 59:
Diamond Miller scored 14 of her 18 points in the final two quarters to lead second-seeded Maryland to a victory over depleted Notre Dame in Greenville, South Carolina, and to the Elite Eight for the first time in eight years.
Shyanne Sellers also had 18 points for the Terps, who will play defending champion South Carolina, the top overall seed, on Monday night for a trip to Dallas for the Final Four.
Maryland (28-6) used a third-quarter burst to put away the third-seeded Fighting Irish (27-6), who played once again without injured leading scorer Olivia Miles after her knee injury at the ACC Tournament earlier this month.
Miles and guard Dara Mabrey, both starters, were injured spectators for Notre Dame, which hung tight with Maryland for 25 minutes before Miller and Shyanne Sellers took over.
Miller, a first-team All-American, shook off a poor first half as Maryland gained control. Tied at 44, Lavender Briggs hit a 3-pointer and Miller followed with a threepoint play as the Terps closed the third quarter on a 13-1 run.
Late Friday
Louisville 72, Mississippi 62: Hailey Van Lith scored 21 points to help No. 5 seed Louisville beat No. 8 seed Mississippi and advance to the final of Seattle Region 4.
The Cardinals (26-11) will face second-seed Iowa today for a trip to the Final Four.
It’s the fifth consecutive year that Louisville has reached at least the Elite Eight.
The Rebels (25-9) hadn’t advanced this far since 2007, when Ole Miss made its fifth Elite Eight in program history. The Rebels were looking to become only the second No. 8 seed to reach a regional final, joining Southwest
Missouri State, which did it in 1992.
Mississippi’s defense under coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin had been excellent in the first two games of the tournament, keeping both Gonzaga and No. 1 seed Stanford under 50 points in each game.
Louisville reached that mark by the end of the third quarter on Merissah Russell’s 3-pointer. That gave the Cardinals a 52-42 lead — their biggest of the game to that point.
Iowa 87, Colorado 77: Caitlin Clark scored 31 points and No. 2 seed Iowa shook disappointments the past two seasons and reached the Elite Eight with a win in a Seattle Region 4 semifinal.
After two straight tournaments where Clark’s season ended in the round of 16 and the round of 32, the Hawkeyes will play for a chance at just the second Final Four berth in school history.
Clark was the catalyst for Iowa’s big second half, and the first-team All-American finished 11 of 22 shooting with four 3-pointers and eight assists. It was her 11th game this season scoring at least 30 points.
But she had plenty of help, especially after Clark sat a chunk of the first half after picking up two fouls. Monika Czinano added 15 points, including a key basket in the paint with 1:10 remaining. Kate Martin scored 16 and McKenna Warnock scored 10. Iowa shot 54% for the game and 59% in the second half.
More coverage
Top seed South Carolina overpowers UCLA. Page 6